Session #4 - March 11, Katsuya Hirano

[cgao]

Professor Katsuya Hirano from UCLA will be covering Classical Japan. Please download and read the files below. 

Attachments:

You must be logged in to view attached files.

[Dennis O'Connell]

Reading "The Treatment of Natives" and "Who Were the Emishi", it struck me that the US experience dealing with Native peoples is not unique in the world.  It would be interesting to engage with students about how Native peoples should be treated in the United States, Australia, and of course East Asia.  Why do newcomers often disregard the peoples already inhabiting a land?  What language do they use to describe the people they do encounter (e.g., "dirt spiders" in Japan)?  How has treachery been used to gain an advantage over Native peoples?  Even though these things occurred in the past, is there a place for reparations in the present?  What can we learn from the past (both good and bad) which should guide our actions in the future as it relates to various people groups?

[Ricardo Reyes]

This concise and dated article describes what occurred to isolate or decimate what were termed "native peoples" in Japan who were treated with contempt. The accounts go back as far as the 7th century during which the ancient compilation known as the Nihon ahoki may have questionable chronological accuracy but bear witness to the harsh measures deployed in the overall conduct of the Yamato state vis-a-vis the natives peoples in western Japan. A difference in begrudging acceptance of groups such as the Kumaso of Kyushu was due to their resistance despite the threats of the Yamato queens who state that those who resist will be destroyed. Immediately, I think of the famous Mescalero-Chiricahua Apache warrior, Geronimo, and his fierce resistance to European descendant settlers in the southwest. He outlived many of his fellow peoples and opponents to a ripe old age of 80. In contrast, during my freshman year at Occidental College, an introduction to "Ishi" the last native man in the west coast of California was made well known in our readings since Adolph Kroeber's book of the same name, Ishi, was a required text. Adolph's son was on the faculty of Occidental and frequently lectured on his recollection of his father's anthropological studies of Ishi during his latter years as he lived on the UC Berkeley campus recounting his language, memories, and tales. Ishi confirmed common knowledge of that era that the remaining native peoples feared for their lives and avoided contact with all non-native peoples out of survival instincts. Once the Gold Rush of 1850 occurred, the genocide of native peoples was most pronounced in northern California for those native peoples who were still living on the land and in the wilds. The classification of native peoples rendered them as inconsequential and a barrier to westward expansion and settlement. They were simply an impediment to Christian peoples manifest destiny. Some native peoples managed to survive as they moved inland away from the prime coastal lands and gold terrain of central northern California upwards to the Sierras where the gold was mined and panned. Much treachery was used in Japan even with the pretext of a supposed peace parley. The parallels with other geographical merging of European and indigenous populations bears striking resemblance; ie. Africa, Australia, and Latin America. 

What is lacking or begs explanation is how the native peoples differed from the conquering Japanese. Were any of these groups indigenous or not to the Japanese Islands? What, if any, physical differences were used as discriminating markers? Were there pronounced cultural and customs differences? How about a difference in living habits or belief systems? How were the differences defined or designated which formed the basis for separation and supremacist beliefs and practices?

 

[Scott Craig]

I noticed the same thing while reading the article. You could also add to the list the way the Europeans treated the native populations in Africa. This could be a very interesting assignment/research project for students to compare and contrast treatment of native populations during time periods of Imperialsm. It would be interesting to compare the names the imperialist colonizers used for the natives. Why did they use such names? Was it because if they admitted the people they were conquering were human, they would see just how wrong their actions were? Great idea!!!

[Scott Craig]

I found the readings for this session extremely interesting. To be honest I have very little knowledge about the early history of Japan. I was surprised to find that in the articles they stated the earlies settlers were probably from the south - the Pacific Islands. In the past I had always heard the theory that they came from China, crossing the Korean peninsula. I was also surprised to see that even though it was still male-dominated, women were often in leadership roles and they were descended from a supreme goddess. I'm really looking forward to tonight's lecture to find out more information.

[Jimmy Martinez]

This article was very insightful and helped me to understand the development of early Japan and their harsh treatment towards the natives. This "kill the savages" kind of attitude has been repeated over the ages but the level of brutality against the "dirt spiders" really shocked me. People do genuinely fear things they do not know. The same applied to Pizarro when he conquered the Incan's and Cortez when he conquered the Aztec's. No matter when the time period or where on earth it happened the native peoples were usually treated with disdain or tossed aside. I could definitely use this story as a parallel in my U.S. history course because we are starting the period of the Indian Removal Act.

[Amy Chen]

This week's readings gave me ideas for my 6th grade History class especially for the unit on world religions. Buddhism was introduced by the Baekje to Japan during 552AD. In the current textbook we use, Buddhism in Japan is not a focus. During the Asuka Period, Buddhism was promoted as the philosophical, religious, and political foundation by the Yamato state. By the Heian period, two factions of Buddhism developed: Shengon and Tendai.

 

I personally learned something new about the inhumane treatment of the natives in NIhon Shoki. According to the article by Kenjiro, the natives were treated with contempt and executed by both Kumaso and Yamato armies. The tales of duplicity form a pattern throughout the rule under the Yamato court. This article brought my attention to a significant part in Japanese history that I did not know of before.

 

[Brenda-Jean Shephard]

Based on the reading, it's clear that the history of ancient Japan was very different from that of mainland Asia.  The first thing I noticed is that the dates are much more recent (AD rather than BCE).  I look forward to hearing about indigenous and non-indigenous inhabitants, and societies that had queens/empresses as well as kings/emperors.

[Brenda-Jean Shephard]

I guess I will need to do some Googling to find answers to some questions regarding the hereditary longevity of the emperors of Japan.  Guess I should read some manga too.  Too bad I never kept books confiscated from 6th graders who liked to read manga during lessons...

[Christine Moguel]

The article about the treatment of the natives was eye opening to say the least.  As Dr.Hirano stated in his lecture- “conquerors wrote their version of history”, they were able to create a narrative that favored their actions in a superior light.  I would have loved to hear the other side of the story- wherein, the natives told their side of the story.  Untold native narratives could be a lesson activity for my students.  I could read certain modified documents about the story of ancient Japanese native treatment and have the students write out a brief narrative about how this treatment makes them feel.  We could discuss the different feelings, emotions, fears, joys, these natives had regarding the state of their livelihood in the face of the gross inhumanity they faced on a daily basis.

They will be frontloaded with different terminology and I will have different images avaliable for my students to reference.  Tsuchigumo- dirt or earth spiders- are the terms they will learn as derogatory terms for these early Japanese natives.  They will be able to dissect the different horrific actions taken (on record) to these natives- and decipher a distict narrative about their experience.  

[Christine Moguel]

I was surprised ot learn about the apparent genocide that occured to the the natives during the Yamato state.  These people that were labeled "barbarians" endured treacherous murder during this period in early Japan, simply based on their societal status.  WOW!  

[Linda Gonzales Diaz]

This week's readings were very interesting. The narrative around native peoples seems to be on a continuous loop where they are dehumanized by more powerful groups. It seems that every developed culture has built its society atop the dead bodies of the original dwellers of the land, or natives.  Colonists and beyond called the Native Americans "savages" or "red face" and to this day continue oppressing this group. Although the timeline of the events and the depiction of the events may remain questionable, the fact remains that it is a familiar story circling most early histories. Here we read that Yamato deems these natives "dirt spiders" and also goes about killing everyone because they are seen as less than human. Of course, history being written by the victor always seems to depict the defeated party as a formidable foe that needed to be anihalated for the 'greater good' and the preservation of the way of life for the conquerer. The other piece that really interested me was the mythology presented by Professor Katsuya Hirano.  It really intrigued me and I see myself building a lesson plan around the myths based at the inception of Japanese history. Every culture has myths and legends revolving around thier own genesis.  The mythology I am most familiar with is Latin American and Greek mythology. I will continue researching these myths to learn more about how they shape the culture of Japan we know today, then curate the information and take it back to my students. 

[Marcos Rico]

I always thought of the Japanese as one homogenous group of people who somehow had managed to migrate and populate the several islands that make up Japan. I was very surprised to read “The treatment of Natives” and “Who were the Emishi” and learn more about early Japan. I love learning more about history (even with all destruction).

            Unfortunately, the treatment of the native inhabitants of the island by the Japanese is a sad, but classic example of what happens when two different cultures/ societies meet. The stronger or more advance society tries to dominate and destroys the other less advanced society. It happened when the Spanish arrived in the Caribbean (later repeated it with the Aztecs, Incas, etc). Same happened when the Pilgrims/Europeans arrived into what is now the East Coast of the United States, and kept on repeating until The United States reached from coast to coast.

[Marcos Rico]

Dennis, often the newcomers are more technologically advanced than the native inhabitants. Historically the newcomers have used this technological advantage to enslave and erradicate the native population, taking over the land and natural resources. It has happened countless times all over the world, in Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania, & America. It is a sad part of our world history.

The dehumanization of the enemies is something that has been done for a very long time specially during war time, to make it easy for soldiers to kill each other. 

[Brenda-Jean Shephard]

Ok, well don't make fun of me for quoting Wikipedia.  If anyone has more reliable information, do share it!  But according to my questionable source, “The Imperial House of Japan is the oldest continuing monarchical house in the world.^[2]  The historical origins of the Emperors go back to the 3rd–7th centuries AD.”  Apparently, Japan is the only country in the world with a head of state called “emperor” in English.  His role is defined as "the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people." Historically, he was also the highest authority of the Shinto religion.  “Since the enactment of the 1947 Constitution, he has been a ceremonial head of state without even nominal political powers.”  The current emperor, Akhito, is 84 years old, and has decided to retire – or abdicate the throne – at the end of April, rather than continuing to rule until he dies.  His Son Naruhito, who is 59, will be the next emperor.  Naruhito has a brother and sister who are the same ages as my older brother and younger sister, respectively.  He’s been married since 1993 and has one daughter, who is 17 years old.  Presumably, she will eventually become the empress of Japan.

I enjoyed reading the story of Emperor Akhito and his wife, Empress Michiko http://factsanddetails.com/japan/cat16/sub111/item2880.html.  They have been married for 60 years!  She was neither royalty nor aristocratic, and in fact is Catholic.  In spite of what we learned about the history of Japan (or pre-Japan), and the dubious nature of history altogether, it seems that the current generation is in fact better than the past ones were.  I wish the emperor and empress a pleasant retirement.

[Author]

Posts